Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
It seemed the more I didn’t react to her, the worse she got. As if she wanted me to snap back at her. Tell her no. Tell her to back off or that she wasn’t my boss. I wasn’t giving her that satisfaction. She could see that I was a nice person and get over her jealousy with Bane or keep this up.
Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she followed behind me. I guessed she was going to make sure I did as I had been told. Rolling my eyes, I kept going, not looking back at her. Just before I reached the massive arched doorway that led out to the pastures, her hand slammed against my back, causing me to stumble forward. Thankfully, I kept my balance and didn’t fall on my stomach.
“Could you at least try and walk faster?!” she spat out.
I wrapped my arms around my stomach, my heart racing from the physical attack that I had not seen coming. She’d been verbal, but never done something like this. As if she wanted to hurt me.
“I said, MOVE!”
She shoved me again. I hadn’t been prepared for it, and this time, I fell forward. On instinct, my arms shot out, and I caught myself, hitting my knees so that my stomach wasn’t impacted.
“Get u—”
Her harsh words were cut off, and I started to get up in a panic to get some distance from her. Glancing back though, I froze.
Grissele was behind Adalee with a gun pressed against her head. I didn’t move. I wasn’t sure I was breathing.
“MOM!” I heard Bane shout from the parking-lot side of the stables.
I swung my gaze to see where he was and saw him running through the long, wide center of the main building.
“This is what’s going to happen, you nasty bitch,” Grissele said in a cold tone that startled me. It sounded nothing like the woman I had gotten to know. “You are going to get your things. Hand in your keys. Walk out of this place and never fucking return. You will get no last paycheck. If you even think about suing for any reason, I will find you, and you won’t walk away. This is your one and only warning.”
“Jesus Christ, Mom! What the fuck?” Bane asked as he reached us.
He didn’t stop at the two of them, but came to stand in front of me, reaching back to wrap an arm around my body, like he was protecting me. It was sweet and all, but he was a little late. His mother had morphed into a badass and beaten him to it.
“I’m firing this one,” his mother told him.
“Bane,” Adalee whimpered.
“Uh-uh-uh,” Grissele said. “Don’t try that. He doesn’t know what I overheard and witnessed. He won’t be coming to your rescue. He might break your damn neck.”
Bane tensed up, his hand gripping my hip. “What did she do?” he asked, his voice lowering.
“Let’s see. Where to start? She accused Halo of being lazy, taking advantage of you, being in the way here, then ordered her to get outside and put up Slingshot. I was going to fire her in a less dramatic way at that moment, but then the crazy bitch pushed Halo. When Halo caught herself, I eased my hand off the gun just barely because she shoved her again, and this time, Halo fell to the ground.”
Bane shot over to Adalee so fast that I gasped, stepping back.
His hands went to her throat. “YOU FUCKING BITCH!” he roared.
“It’s okay, son. Halo landed on her hands and knees. She’s fine. No need to kill this one. But she does need to get off the property within ten minutes. Now, let go of her throat before she chokes to death and we have an unwanted mess to clean up.” Grissele’s tone was so calm that I almost laughed in horror.
Bane shook Adalee, then released her neck. She was trying to suck in air but was struggling. Grissele took the gun and opened her purse to slide it inside. Her gaze met mine then, and her face softened.
“Are you okay?” she asked gently.
I managed a nod.
“I am sorry about all this,” she said.
Bane was stalking back to me, his glare on Adalee. He pointed at the stables. “Get your shit! The clock is ticking.”
Then, his arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me to his chest, kissing the top of my head.
“You take care of our girl. I’ll make sure this one clears out quickly,” Grissele told him.
My face was buried in Bane’s chest, and I couldn’t see the other two as they left, but I heard both sets of their heels as they walked away.
“Fucking hell, baby. What happened?” he asked, running his hands over my arms and stepping back to see if he could find anything on me that was harmed.